Bringing Back the Fretless

If you listen to rock/pop radio, you’re
always exposed to sonic trends, though
those waves of popularity that certain
sounds enjoy don’t last very long. For example,
a lot of pop hits these days contain a
dubstep breakdown, but I’m sure before
long we’ll regard the dubstep breakdown as
so two years ago. There are very few recorded
sounds that could be considered a musical
equivalent of, say, blue jeans—the very
long-standing staple in the fashion world.

I’m old enough and lucky enough to have
lived through quite a few of these trends.
And as a consumer of music, this also means
I often miss some of my favorite ingredients
from the past in the musical cake I’m fed
everyday—whether I’m walking through a
shopping mall or driving in my car.

The sax solo certainly belongs on the list
of sounds that were once heard everywhere,
but eventually lost popularity. In songs
from the ’50s all the way up to the ’80s,
there was no other sound that could take
the energy level even higher than that of a
guitar solo. But for the past two or three
decades, a sax solo in rock ’n’ roll would
just get laughed at. Fortunately, recent hits
by Lady Gaga and Katy Perry have featured
some prominent saxophone solos, so we just
might be seeing a comeback of sorts.

Perhaps the saddest loss of a musical
sound that was once frequently heard on
the radio is the fretless bass. It’s a sound so
gorgeous and hypnotic that it sent me to
the music store as a teen to purchase a fretless
Fender just a few days after I first heard
Paul Young’s “Wherever I Lay My Hat
(That’s My Home).” I grew up loving bluesy
guitar solos and saxophone leads because
they sounded just like the human voice to
me, so I was thrilled to discover that a bass
guitar also had the ability to sound like
somebody crying, whining, singing, or displaying
some other human emotion.

If you play guitar (or pickstyle bass for
that matter), the sound is determined by
the vibration of the string caused by the
piece of plastic in your picking hand and
the fret material on your neck. When playing
fretless bass, however, the sound you
hear is produced by soft skin on both ends.
The humanity is instantly more present
than when playing a fretted bass or guitar.

I feel like my level of proficiency on
a fretted bass does not vary that much
between the days I am feeling “on” and days
when I feel like I’m not playing particularly
well. But with my fretless, playing is more
like a stormy relationship with a beautiful
woman: Some days I feel ecstatic and complete—like I am right where I am supposed
to be in life—and on other days the fretless
just wants to pick a fight and make my life
miserable. Fortunately, on most days, the
love between us flows freely.

There are some basic physical practices
to make the move from guitar or bass to
fretless bass smoother. I still warm up with
the following exercises when I pick up my
fretless because it reminds my eyes and
muscles how things are supposed to look
and feel. These exercises can be frustrating,
but they produce great results.

Start with octaves and fifths—the two
intervals that function as the foundation for
bass lines in many musical genres. And note
that it is very important to practice these
in many different positions along the neck.
When playing them in the low register, use
your first and fourth finger (Fig. 1). Moving higher up on the neck, I use the first and
fourth fingers, but the first and third might
be more comfortable for some (Fig. 2). Once
you’ve grasped the concept, try sliding this
root/fifth fingering a whole-step down, say,
from D to C with both the root and the
fifth ringing. It produces a stunning effect
that can be very effective in a big ballad, and
when your octaves and fifths are in tune,
you’ll have a solid foundation to play basic,
fretless bass. Just listen closely for pitch, and
take your time.

Fig. 1: A fifth played in the lower register of a 5-string fretless bass.

Fig. 2: In the upper register of a fretless bass, octaves (shown) or fifths are played with either the first and fourth or first and third finger.

The next step is to start using thirds
and tenths (or thirds an octave up). This
is decidedly harder and requires even more
attention to pitch, but makes for an amazing
sound, even when played on their own.
Thirds sound better in a higher register
since the notes are too close together sonically
when played down low. The natural
thing to do when playing minor thirds is to
use your first and third finger (Fig. 3), but
for major thirds, employing your first and
second finger (Fig. 4) is the best way to go.

Fig. 3: For minor thirds, using your first and third finger will likely feel most natural.

Fig. 4: Using your first and second finger for major thirds is the best way to go.

Vibrato is an astoundingly important
part of playing fretless bass. Make it too
wide and it will make the whole band
sound out of tune (or make you sound like
a cello soloist). If the vibrato is not wide
enough, you most likely will not infuse
your fretless playing with that dramatic,
human emotion that makes people love the
sound of the instrument so much in the
first place. Listening to great music that’s
recorded with a fretless bass and then experimenting
to see what you like will help you
develop your own style of vibrato.

Because the sound of fretless bass is fairly
uncommon in pop, rock, and country today,
quite a few artists I’ve played with lately, or
audience members that have seen me play
recently, have come up to me after shows or
sessions and told me how good it felt to hear
the fretless again. It feels good to me to play
it too. Partly because I feel like my whole
soul is involved, and partly because it always
makes me a little nervous—just like everything
important in life should.

Victor Brodén is a Nashville bassist and producer who has toured and recorded with more
than 25 major-label artists, including LeAnn
Rimes, Richard Marx, Casting Crowns,
and Randy Houser. His credits also include
Grammy-winning albums and numerous
television specials on CMT and GAC, as well as performances
on The Tonight Show and The Ellen DeGeneres
Show. You can reach him at vbroden@yahoo.com.

Victor Brodén is a Nashville bassist and producer who has toured and recorded with more than 25 major-label artists, including LeAnn Rimes, Richard Marx, Casting Crowns, and Randy Houser. His credits also include Grammy-winning albums and numerous television specials on CMT and GAC, as well as performances on The Tonight Show and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. You can reach him at vbroden@yahoo.com.